Facing Fears in Business

Happy October and fall! This month, my team and I are doing a team
building exercise focusing on fears.
Facing them and overcoming them.
Fear is a very powerful emotion.
It is there to protect us from harm but if we allow it, it can be so
crippling to the point where it does not allow us to grow or move forward. We
wanted to learn more about each other’s fears and learn ways to overcome
them.

Fear might creep into
our minds when we sense responsibility for others, when we experience
uncertainty, or when we deal with daunting “unknowns.” Whether trying to grow a company, making
changes, or simply making payroll, running and managing a company or department
is scary and hard. It entails making
hard decisions and lots of them. But while it may overwhelm us, it sometimes
can help us overcome those fears.

Fear is the mind’s way
of telling us that danger is lurking ahead.
While it may be justified, it can halt imagination and choke
ambition. It can sometimes make simple
or straightforward tasks seem insurmountable.
So how does one know the difference between an emotion that can protect us
versus one that can paralyze us?

One way is to learn — let fear be a teacher. When you face something that really scared
the crap out of you, take note of the outcomes.
Was it as bad as you thought? Did
the company grow because of it? Learn
just like you do from mistakes. Often,
the fear fades once we face it.

Another way is to enlist the help of experts to affirm or squash your fears. People
often think that courage means you have no fear. But I believe that taking
action despite the fact that you have fears is a display of courage. That being said, taking action is a lot
easier said than done. But, if you talk
to other industry leaders, family members, or colleagues about your fears, they
may see things differently than you. Their perspective may help you assess whether
your fears are justified or blown out of proportion.

The final way is to see fear as advantageous, not a sign of
weakness. Fear is a perfectly
natural reaction that can work to our advantage. It is absolutely reasonable to feel some fear
before making a new key hire, negotiating a new contract, or investing a large
sum of money into a new idea. That
emotion can prove helpful by tempering the owner’s or manager’s own thought
processes and preventing irrational decision-making.

Don’t let fear become a
burden or paralyze you from making things happen. Think about your team or your employees who
count on you for jobs and become courageous and smart. If we can help you face
your fears this last quarter, please know we are here to help!